[jimbg]

As you say if the OTA is robust then why not have the latest version?
If it is flakey then it will cause problems regardless of the install method.

Jaguar Land Rover have been sending updates OTA for a while and certainly with my current JLR car I have never had a problem.

Well not because of the OTA element anyway!

[ifr]

Tesla and JLR are not shining examples of reliable delivery of anything.

Tesla have led the way but have had numerous OTA issues that have made the news.

JLR do NOT do full ECU OTA updates. They simply update the infotainment system, so worst case you lose your music or mapping. BMW have been doing a simplified version of that for years. I've owned 2 discos and wouldn't trust JLR to change the oil without checking it myself after.

But, yet again, the reason BMW do not do 'n' version release is the same reason every software company in the world follows a development release cycle - to de-risk compatibility issues and user impact.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT THE OTA DELIVERY METHOD. If BMW had any doubts about the capability to deliver any version of their i-step versions they just wouldn't use it. Too much risk.

Remote Upgrade is BMW's equivalent of Windows Update.
The i-step main branch (11/2019.x) is equivalent to a Windows 10 Feature update e.g. 1909.
The i-step sub-version (11/2019.55) is equivalent of a W10 Cumulative Update to fix issues with that branch.

Microsoft have thousands, if not millions of insider preview customers to feedback on compatibility issues with an upcoming FU of W10. BMW do not have that luxury, they have the dealer releases which generate real-life feedback, and based on that will create fixes for the main branch i-step. When that is reliable enough for release, they will release OTA, n-1.

If MS break your computer it's annoying, if BMW break your car its a safety and potentially even legal issue. The vast majority of complaints about Windows servicing are not about Windows Update, its the content of the updates themselves that cause the issues.

It's really not a difficult concept to grasp, and this is the first time BMW have released an OTA update. Personally, I'd have gone with n-2, unless there were specific issues with that version (03/2019.x).

Another point on Tesla - they have less than handful of models and versions to deliver updates to. Within those models the possible configuration options are limited. You work out how many possible combinations of model and options BMW have to address and the complexity is enormous. Any one of those combinations could introduce a defect in the car if the software is not fully tested. By releasing to dealers first, which is the current BAU approach anyway, they have 3 months production testing.

Anyone can google and find the BMW release notes for each i-step. Review the first release of a main branch release, and then the subsequent minor release. There are fixes galore! Some of them fix issues that would brick the car if a specific combination of options are installed.

Here's a scenario - Jammit is release manager for BMW. His developers and testers plead with him despairingly, but he pushes the button to send 03/2020.1 to all BMW cars worldwide anyway. OTA works exactly as it supposed to and installs 03/2020.1 exactly as intended. But, the developers and testers didn't have a Russian car configured with option X and Y, and an issue occurs. The car won't start, or the KAFAS cameras start doing some weird stuff so the self-driving is off, or the programming (not OTA delivery) fails and one or more ECU is bricked. All examples taken from real i-step programming notes. Now if these issue occur in the dealership, they can be managed, reported on and fixed in a later release. No problem. But in this scenario Jammit just exposed BMW to lawsuits and worldwide embarrassment.

I am well aware that Jammit is borderline trolling, or just stubborn, not sure which, but I find this stuff really interesting, when factually accurate at least.

[jammit]

IFR - I suggest we leave this and simply agree to disagree.
I do not consider it a good practice to attack other people posting on this forum.

[BMW lifer]

Originally Posted by ifr

... Anyone can google and find the BMW release notes for each i-step. Review the first release of a main branch release, and then the subsequent minor release. There are fixes galore! Some of them fix issues that would brick the car if a specific combination of options are installed...

Hi ifr. I’ve never been able to find release notes for each I-step and there are numerous threads on here with others complaining about this lack of info.

If you’ve found a website which *does* contain this, please post a link here. You’ll be everyone’s best friend

Many thanks

[ifr]

Originally Posted by BMW lifer

Hi ifr. I've never been able to find release notes for each I-step and there are numerous threads on here with others complaining about this lack of info.

If you've found a website which *does* contain this, please post a link here. You'll be everyone's best friend

Many thanks

Ha ha . They are programming release notes so release notes about the issues with the releases rather than a list of features. Bmw are poor with consumer release notes I wholeheartedly agree.

They do post consumer RN in CD but usually about 6 months after the istep was released (currently showing 07/2019 in portal).

All programming RN can be found on the CarTechnoloGY forum